From 5a9498e9e9173a911f481f8024632bf7ede887ac Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dodothereal <129273127+Dodothereal@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:00:57 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] docs(ch04-02): clarify reference scope is distinct from
 variable scope

Fixes #4706: the phrase 'a reference's scope starts from where it is
introduced' implicitly shifts the meaning of the word 'scope' from
the lexical (curly-bracket) scope used for variables to the
non-lexical lifetime-style scope used for references. Without
acknowledging the shift, beginners may conflate the two.

Prepend one sentence to the existing paragraph to make the
distinguishing factor explicit.
---
 src/ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.md | 10 ++++++----
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.md b/src/ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.md
index 8c37601d57..99e806eb5b 100644
--- a/src/ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.md
+++ b/src/ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.md
@@ -171,10 +171,12 @@ from under them! However, multiple immutable references are allowed because no
 one who is just reading the data has the ability to affect anyone else’s
 reading of the data.
 
-Note that a reference’s scope starts from where it is introduced and continues
-through the last time that reference is used. For instance, this code will
-compile because the last usage of the immutable references is in the `println!`,
-before the mutable reference is introduced:
+Note that a reference’s scope is distinct from a variable’s scope: a
+variable’s scope extends to the end of the block where it was declared,
+whereas a reference’s scope starts from where the reference is introduced
+and continues through the last time that reference is used. For instance,
+this code will compile because the last usage of the immutable references
+is in the `println!`, before the mutable reference is introduced:
 
 ```rust
 {{#rustdoc_include ../listings/ch04-understanding-ownership/no-listing-13-reference-scope-ends/src/main.rs:here}}